Alternative Bioethics Resources

Other Bioethics Resources on the Web

Starting Points

Bioethics.netThe American Journal of Bioethics online. A great starting point for researching current issues. Includes a blog.

Exploring Bioethics, a curriculum supplement from the NIH Office of Science Education. The structure of these modules enables teachers to facilitate learning and stimulate ethical inquiry. Real-life cases introduce a core set of ethical considerations that are important for analyzing ethical issues in medicine and the life sciences. Design elements emphasize key bioethical concepts and analytic methods, cutting-edge science content, real-world scenarios, and built-in assessment tools. Activities promote active and collaborative learning to help students develop their ethical-reasoning and critical-thinking skills. The curriculum supplement was written in collaboration with NWABR.

Provides a case study and a bioethical decision-making template. The Ethics curriculum module allows students to explore a case study related to the genetic testing of Huntington's disease. The Investigating Smoking Behavior Ethics Unit was developed in collaboration with NWABR.

Ethics Updates is intended to provide resources and updates on current literature, both popular and professional, that relates to ethics. It includes ethics background, videos of presentations by ethicists, and a series of case studies.

Additional Resources

ActionBioSci.OrgAlthough not limited to bioethics, there are many useful resources here.

DNA FilesCompanion site to a NPR Series. Contains links to many radio features related to bioethics and genetics.

Human Genome Project Information - Ethical, Legal and Social IssuesNational Human Genome Research Institute The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have devoted 3% to 5% of their annual Human Genome Project (HGP) budgets toward studying the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) surrounding availability of genetic information. This represents the world's largest bioethics program, which has become a model for ELSI programs around the world.

National Reference Center for Bioethics LiteratureThe Kennedy Institute is a teaching and research center offering ethical perspectives on major policy issues. It is the largest university based group of faculty members in the world devoted to research and teaching in biomedical ethics and other areas of applied ethics. The Institute also houses the most extensive library of ethics in the world, the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature; produces bibliographic citations relating to bioethics for the online databases at the National Library of Medicine; and conducts regular seminars and courses in bioethics.

OnlineEthics Center for Science and EngineeringThis site contains a wide variety of useful resources and links on research ethics, moral leaders in science and engineering, women and minorities in science and engineering, and codes of ethics.

Personal Genome Education Project (pgEd)Widespread, inexpensive individual genome sequences are on the horizon. In fact, many believe the cost of sequencing a human genome could be approximately $1,000 (US) in the next 5-10 years if not sooner, making it possible for genome sequences to play a routine role in the health care of an individual. pgEd hopes to get people thinking and talking about the fast-approaching world of personal genetics.

Wellcome TrustThe mission of the Trust is 'to foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health'. Reflecting the profound impact today's research will have on society, the Wellcome Trust also seeks to raise awareness of the medical, ethical and social implications of research and promote dialogue between scientists, the public and policy makers.

Your Genes, Your ChoicesExploring the Issues Raised by Genetic Research. This resource is published online by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and features 8 case scenarios easily adapted to a classroom setting.